The Washington Wizards have had an ugly few months. But they’ve made it to the Playoffs and that’s what matters. John Wall has been amazing for yet another year. The Wiz have coped with and without Bradley Beal who keeps getting sidelined. And Paul Pierce has had a great effect on the team. Providing that veteran voice that every team needs.
Ever since leaving Boston he’s been trying to be a small piece in something big. The Brooklyn attempted to be that place but as we know. They bombed hard. And now that Pierce has left the Nets. He sat down with Jackie MacMullan of ESPN, to talk about the Nets. Most notably how it was visibly him and Kevin Garnett that kept them afloat and how Deron Williams totally checked out for nearly two years.
“I’m much happier,” he said. “It was a tough situation (in Brooklyn) last year. Horrible, really.
“It was just the guys’ attitudes there. It wasn’t like we were surrounded by a bunch of young guys. They were vets who didn’t want to play and didn’t want to practice. I was looking around saying, ‘What’s this?’ Kevin (Garnett) and I had to pick them up every day in practice.
“If me and Kevin weren’t there, that team would have folded up. That team would have packed it in. We kept them going each and every day.”
That’s why I thought they’d be screwed as soon as KG left. Brook and Deron have been ghosts for so long. But suddenly they have a good couple of months and they’re now fighting for a Playoff spot.
“Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,” Pierce said. “But I felt once we got there, that’s not what he wanted to be. He just didn’t want that.
“I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.”
I love how he’s called “The Truth”. Because that’s all I’m reading right now.
Williams was fighting to be the number 1 point guard in the league. When it was just him vs Chris Paul. That was the battle we all wanted to see. But now, Williams is just plain average. Yes he and the Nets have kicked into gear suddenly but since he’s been in Brooklyn. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I still haven’t seen “Utah DWill” in Brooklyn.
